Electrically-controlled regulating-valve for humidifying and heating systems.



, PATENTED FEB. 20, 1906. S. W. GRAMER. ELEGTRIGALLY OONTROLLEDREGULATING VALVE POR HUMIDIEYING AND HEATING SYSTEMS.

APPLICATION FILED DEG.29,1904.

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@mi tumbas No. 813,083. l PATENTED -EEB. 20, 1906. S. W. ORAMER.

ELEGTRICALLY OONTROLLED REG'ULATING VALVE POR HUMIDIFYING AND HEATINGSYSTEMS.

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4Am TANK UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STUART W. GRANIER, OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA. ELlCTRlCALLY-CONTROLLEDREGULATlNG-VALVE FOR HUMIDIFYING AND HEATING SYSTEMS.)

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, 1906.

Application filed December 29, 1904. Serial No. 238,818.

.To all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, STUART W. CRAMER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Charlotte, in the county of Mecklenburg and State of NorthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inElectrically- Controlled Regulating-Valves for Humidifying and HeatingSystems; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the art of moistening or attemperating andheating the atmosphere in textile or other factories or buildings, hasespecial reference to means for regulating the supply of fluid andliquid to the humidifying system and steam or hotjvater to the heatingsystem intermittent-ly, and automatically to maintain a predetermineddegree of humidity and temperature of the atmosphere in any or all ofthe compartments of the factory.

The invent-ion consists in the construction of anelectrically-controlled valve operated by changes in the atmosphere, sothat air and Water will be supplied to the humidijiers or air-moisteningdevices and steam or hot Water to the heating devices in the severalcompartments of the factory automatically as changes or variations inthe atmosphere require.

The invention will be fully disclosed in the following specification andclaims.Y

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification,Figure 1 represents an air-controlling valve in vertical section, partof the servicepipe and the hygrometer and thermostat in elevation; andFig. 2, a vertical section of a steam-controlling valve.

Reference being had to the 4drawings and the designating charactersthereon, the nu-` meral 1 indicates the main-valve case connected to aservice-pipe 2, which may be used for conducting air under pressure toraise and atomize water for humidifiers in an air moistening orattemperating system, or it may be used for conducting steam or hotWater to a heating system. The valve case is connected to theservice-pipe by suitable unions 3, is provided with a disk-valve 4,vattached to a stem 5, one end o f which extends through an opening 6 inthe bottom of the valve-case,

and from the bottom ofthe valve-case proan elongated cylinder 8 by ascrew-threaded connection 9, and Within the cylinder is ahelically-coiled spring 10, Which rests upon the bottom 11 of saidcylinder and at itsupend of the valve-stem to raise the valve off itsseat 13 and allow the fluid in the servicepipe to pass through thevalve-case.

At the upper end of the valve-case is anextension 14, to which acylinder 15 is secured by a flange 16 and a screw-threaded connec- 18,secured to the upper end of the valvestem 5. The valve-stem extendsthrough the bottom 19 of the cylinder 15 and is provided With astuiiing-boX 20 to prevent esthe upper end of the cylinder is a cap orhead 21, secured by a screw-threaded connection 22 or in any otherpreferred manner. The cylinder 15 is provided ith openings 23 to permitthe airunderthe piston 18 to escape as the piston descends/in thecylinder. n

24 indicates a supplemental valve for controlling the supply of fluid tooperate the valve 4 to force it to its seat 13 and cut off the supply offluid in the service-pipe. valve-case 25 is connected to the cylinder 15by a pipe 26, provided with a union 2T, and to the service-pipe 2 by apipe 28 by a iuiion 29, and is provided With a stop-cock for controllingthe supply of fluid from the service pipe to the supplemental valve. Thesupplemental valve is almost a duplicate of the main valve inconstruction and is provided With a cylinder 3'1 at its lower endcontaining a. spiral spring 32, engaging a collar 33 on the valve-stem34, an opening 35 in the bottom of the valve-case, an opening 36 in thebottom of the cylinder 31, having a valveseat on the lower side, and avalve 37 on the lower end of the valve-stem 34, which valve 37 controlsthe escape or discharge of the fluid above the piston 1S from thecylinder 15 spring 10 in the cylinder 8f To the upper endof thevalve-case 25 is attached a cylinder 38, through the bottoni 39 of whicheX- tends the vaIve-stem 34, and extends upward'between the poles of anelectromagnet stem is an'armature 41, and on the upper end of thecyhnder is a cover 41. The electromagnet is supphed with an electriccurrent cape of fluid around the valve-stem, and on jects an annularboss47, to Which is secured A per end engagesa disk or plate 12 onthe'lovver tion 17, land Within the cylinder 15 is -a piston Y The FICOas the valve 4 is raised from its seat by the 40, and secured to theupper end of the valvebinding-posts 44 and 45, and feed-Wires orterminals 46 and 47, leading to a combined electrical hygrometer 48 andthermostat 49, the former being operated or controlled by changes orvariations in the humidity of the atmosphere, and the latter by changesor variations in the temperature, under wellknown principles or laws inphysicsv and known in the art to which they belong.

The hygrometer (shown in Fig. 1) comprises a wet-bulb thermometer and adrybulb thermometer, the wet-bulb tliermomef ter 50 having the usualgraduated tube 51, provided with a column of mercury 52, in which is aninsulating-float 53 of non-conducting material, which separates thecolumn into'an upper and a lower leg and will not allow the current ofelectricity to pass from the u per leg to the lower leg.

On the ulb 54 is a covering 55 of textile netting having an extension 56of textile material, which extends down into a receptacle 56',containing water 57, and which water rises to the netting by capillaryattraction and kee s the bulb Net. i

The ry-bulb thermometer 58 is provided with a graduated tube 59,provided with a column of mercury 60, and the tubes of the twothermometers are connected by fine` wires 61, which enter the adjacentsides of the tubes, extend to the bore of the tubes to come in contactlwith the columns of mercury, and said wires are connected by metallicbars 62 for completing an electrical circuit between the thermometers.

63 indicates a metallic bar insulated at its upper and lower ends 64 and65, but electrically connected with the wire 70, and on said bar is amovable metallic brush 66, which engages any of the bars 62 over whichit is placed to complete the electrical circuit.

67 indicates a source of electricalenergy, which may be of any preferredformsuch as a battery or a dynamo, and from which extends wires 69 71,connecting in circuit thel thermometers and thermostat to theregulatingvalve of the air-supply ipe of the' humidi Ving system and theregu ating-valve of the steam-supply pipe of the heating system by wires68 and 7l).

It is evident that When the lower end of the upper leg of the mercury inthe Wet-bulb thermometer is above the corresponding point at which it isin electrical connection in the dry-bulb thermometer the circuit isvbroken and no current can pass.

. On theother hand, when the mercury dro s in thewet-bulb thermometer,so that the ower end of the `uppefleg is in contact with thecorresponding point to which it is electrically connected in thedry-bulb thermometer, the circuit is made and' current passes and is ledoff by wires 68 and 69 to the valve o erating the fluid-supply to thehumidifiers; a so, that this current will continue to flow until themercury in the wet-bulb thermometer rises enough to break the circuit,which action will take place when more moisture has been imarted to theair in the room and the relative umidity brought back to itspredetermined standard.

The construction of the moisture-registering instrument or electricalhygrometer is claimed in another application for a patent, filedDecember 28, 1904, and numbered 238,626. v

In Fig. 2 I have shown the main valve applied to a service-pipe forconducting steam or hot water to a heating system (not shown) land inthis application of the invention the supplemental valve is connected toa servicepip1e`7 2, which supplies ail' under pressure to a umidifyinsystem, (not shown;) but in each application of the invention theoperation of the supplemental valve is the same. In the application ofthe regulating-valve to the air-service ipe the valve 4 controls thesupply of the iipuid and is operated thereby, e in its application to asteam or hot-water service-pipe the valve 4 controls the passage ofsteam or water in the pipe, but is operated by a iluid (air) fromanother servicepipe, which 'su plies the humidifying system. In the appication of the hygrometer to control the supply of Water to thehumidifiers changes in the humidity of the atmosphere cause themercurial columns in the thermometer to make and break the electriccircuit, and thereby transmit electrical current to the electroma et ofthe supplemental valve (shown in 1) to operate thev same, While changesin the tem erature cause the thermostat to produce t e same Having thusfully described my invention,

1. A fluid-service ipe, a main valve to control the fluid therein, and asupplemental valve controlling the. fluid to operate the main valve; incombination with a source of electrical energy, means for indicatingtemperature and means for indicating humidity, each of said means beingadapted to close an electric circuit, separate electrical conductorsconnecting said source of electrical energy with each of said means, oneof said conductors including an electromagnetic device, a plurality ofelectrical conductors connecting said means, and each of said latterconductors uniting selected points on the 'indi- Ieating means.

IIO

IIS

mometers being adapted to close an electric dry-bu1b thermometer withselected points circuit, separate velectrical conductors convon theWet-bulb thermometer. ro -necting sald source of electrical ener With1nv testimony whereof I aflx my signature each of said thermometers, oneof t e said in presence .of two Witnesses.

'conductors includjn an electromagnetic de- STUART W. ORAMER.

vice, a plurality of e ectrcal conductors con- Wtnesses: l

`necting said thermometers, each of 'said lat- D. C. REINQHL,

-ter vconductors uniting selected points on the W. PARKER VRErNomit. v

